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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Kenya: 34 Killed in Bus Crash (Photos/Video)


Mon 25 Jul 2022 | 05:04 PM
Omnia Ahmed

At least 34 people were killed when a passenger bus fell from a bridge and plunged into a river in central Kenya, authorities announced on Monday.

Police revealed that the bus crashed on Sunday evening on a highway from Meru to the capital, Nairobi. The police did not disclose the number of people who were in the vehicle.

https://twitter.com/citizentvkenya/status/1551553763630096386

The bus “must have developed brake failure, because it was at a very high speed when the accident happened,” said Rono Bunei, a senior police official.

Bunei noted that the death toll grew to 30 from 24 overnight, adding that others were hospitalized with injuries.

https://twitter.com/Mwesigy75537994/status/1551505763138428928

The accident is the latest in a series of deadly crashes in Kenya — and across the wider East African region — where roads are often narrow and police blame speeding drivers for crashes.

Earlier this month, at least 20 passengers were killed in a crash along the highway from Nairobi to the coastal city of Mombasa.

Agence France-Presse quoted county commissioner Norbert Komora as saying: "The search is still on and we are trying to retrieve the wreckage."

Komora referred to the place where the accident occurred as a "blackspot," meaning a hotspot for accidents.

The Reuters news agency, citing local media reports, put the number at 34 and affirmed that the government had ordered the company that owned the bus to stop using all its other buses while the investigation is carried out.